By KATH GANNAWAY
A WESBURN man has been left scratching his head over why rubbish dumped in the bush at Wesburn is still there nearly two months after he reported it.
The Mail reported on John Tucker’s disgust in mid-September that a load of household rubbish had been dumped in a popular bush-walking area near Britannia Creek.
Mr Tucker said he couldn’t believe his eyes when he returned to the same spot last week to find the rubbish still there.
“I’m fuming; whatever the procedure is, it’s not working,” he said after contacting Yarra Ranges Council to follow up on why nothing had been done.
Mr Tucker said he was told as it was on Crown Land he should contact his local MP. He did, only to be told it was DEPI he needed to contact.
Both DEPI and Yarra Ranges Council have provided statements about the process – but no insight as to what went wrong in this case.
David Clarkson, Manager Community Compliance with the council said they encouraged residents to report dumped rubbish.
“We will investigate and if it is not on our land, we will refer the report to the relevant authority.
“In this instance, the rubbish is on Crown Land. We have notified the Department of Environment and Primary Industries of the rubbish and we have offered them assistance with investigation if they require it,” he said.
DEPI say they refer complaints about dumped rubbish that is on council land, to council – and vice versa.
“We work with the community to respond to the volume of rubbish dumped and have had several successful clean-up days,” Forest Management Officer, Wally Notman, said.
He says when DEPI is advised of dumped rubbish on DEPI managed land, the process is that they will attempt to identify the offender, locate and inform the offender that they need to remove the rubbish and apply an infringement notice to the offender if the rubbish is not removed.
“If DEPI is unable to identify the offender, or they do not remove the rubbish, DEPI staff complete the works,” Mr Notman said.
What happened in this case remains a mystery.
To report any dumped rubbish phone Yarra Ranges Council on 1300 368 333 or on the website www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/dumpedrubbish . For rubbish on public land also report to DEPI on 136 186.
